A Walk in Your Shoes
by Rabid Chimera
Summary: An easy battle transforms into a long and complicated dilemma when Dante and Nero fail to escape a demon's final effort to do them in completely unscathed. Will they be able to return to their normal lives, or will they be trapped in each other's forever?
1. Prelude

**Warnings:** Eventual Homosexual Pairing(D/N/D), Strong Language, Violence, Blood/Gore

**To be updated?:** Yes, this is a serial story.

**Disclaimer:** I do not own DMC, and I make no money from this(or any) story.

**Dedicated to** surrendertome(dodgegirl66) for her generous gift.

* * *

Droplets of rainwater sprinkled from the gray morning sky. The damp earth sank beneath Nero's boots as he propelled himself from the ground, lunging toward the enormous demon with Red Queen at the ready. The ugly beast, its black hide slick and oily, whirled around to try to keep up with the agile hunter, but its hulking frame was too awkward to maneuver quickly enough. Nero buried his blade in the beast's shoulder, latching himself to its side with his Devil Bringer fisted in a tuft of stringy fur. The chimera howled in pain, three distinct voices—the roar of a lion, the shriek of a goat, and the hiss of a snake—roaring from their matching heads. The snake-headed tip of the chimera's tail lashed around to strike at Nero, but he leapt out of the way at the last moment, and the snake's fangs sunk into the chimera's own flesh.

Meanwhile, Dante was dodging spits of flame from the lion's maw. He rolled to the side before each fiery breath had the chance to burn him to a crisp. The halfbreed was obviously enjoying himself, spouting of taunts and curses of the demon's mother. Too stupid to be aware that Dante was merely distracting it, the chimera grew more enraged by the minute. It was utterly committed to destroying Dante, the only attention it offered Nero in the form of the occasional quick bite. It made the hunters' job far easier because, while Dante was avoiding being crushed beneath the chimera's massive paws, Nero was busy eradicating it in its distraction. Dante caught Nero's cocksure grin as the younger man disappeared beneath the beast, and Dante took the time to flash him his own. A moment later, the beast howled in pain as Nero spilled its guts onto the earth below like goodies from a piñata. Dante worried for a split-second that Nero may have gotten burned by the chimera's acidic blood, but the younger hunter appeared a moment later, unscathed and smiling triumphantly.

"I _will_ have my revenge... son of Sparda!" The chimera struggled to slur out threats around the blood it kept puking up, the toxic green sludge rolling over its fangs with each syllable. Both of its frontal heads repeated the same phrase, the lion's voice a strong, reverberating bass and the goat's the raspy falsetto of an old hag. It whipped its tail around in a last ditch effort to strike at the hunters, but Dante promptly chopped its snake head off with Rebellion. It roared in pain but gave up on any more attempts to injure its enemies.

Smirking, Dante whistled and mocked the beast. "Man, you really got me good, di'nt you? I'll be sure t'share this _stern_ talking-to with all my friends."

The lion growled, its lips vibrating with the deep rumble. "Curse you..."

"That's it? You're just gonna toss insults at me?" demanded Dante, arms spread wide and palms toward the sky. Then they went to his hips, and he clicked his tongue, shaking his head slowly. "I gotta admit... I was expecting more than this."

"Kinda disappointing," Nero added to which Dante nodded and patted him on the shoulder.

The chimera started, unexpectedly, to cackle maniacally, spewing acid in the hunters' direction. They easily dodged the sickly green liquid, leaving it to sizzle in the dirt and maybe fry a few worms. The demon's cackling didn't stop, however, and Nero raised a curious brow in its direction. It's black flesh starting to bubble and blister like a pot of boiling water. Nero heard Dante curse before the man grabbed his devil hand and dragged him away from the chimera as quickly as possible. When it exploded, it seemed they were far enough out of range to avoid being hit by any corrosive substances or steamy chunks of car-sized flesh. However, each hunter noticed that, while they had escaped the majority of the explosion's power, tiny pinpricks erupted across their bare skin. Nero cringed and scratched at his bare forearm before holding it to his eyes. He was surprised when he noticed tiny shards of something shiny, like glass, embedded shallowly in his skin. The shards were barely tinted purple, and seemed to have that same oily sheen that the chimera had.

"What the Hell?" Nero mumbled, digging the tips of his claws into his reddening skin when the intensity of the itching increased. Curiously, he glanced over at Dante to find the hunter scratching his arms and face, as well.

"What is this stuff?" asked Nero slightly nervously. He was relieved that all the shards seemed to do was cause insatiable itching, but he hoped they wouldn't have any other adverse effects.

"I dunno," Dante muttered, baring his teeth as he clawed furiously at his neck. Their skin was quickly becoming red and puffy from all the scratching, but they seemed to be fine, otherwise. When the sky roared out a thunderous cry, Nero canted his head to see that the clouds had grown thicker and lightning crackled behind them.

"Let's get outta here," said the young part-devil, and Dante nodded his agreement. It took them a few minutes to walk back to Dante's bike, but luckily, the two devils made it before the storm. Hopping onto the motorcycle, Nero briefly complained about riding bitch, to Dante's amusement, before the bike roared to life and Dante sped it down the highway.

* * *

**A/N:** As you all know, I have an account on DeviantArt now. And if you know anything about DA, you probably know there is a standard membership and a premium membership. I had a premium membership until surrendertome unexpectedly gifted me with a 3 month premium membership. This is my gift to her. I offered her a request, she gave me the idea, and I fleshed it out. So you can all thank her for the new story. I was going to wait until I had all my other stories finished, but this was just begging to be written, and I already have most of it planned out anyway. So please enjoy and don't forget to review. If you have some critiques, please give me those, too. Happy reading!


	2. Chapter 1

**Warnings:** Language, Violence, Blood/Gore, Suggestive Themes, YAOI(male-on-male)

**Un-beta'd:** Yes—please point out my mistakes.

**Disclaimers:** I do not own DMC, and I make no money from this story.

**Dedicated to** dodgegirl66(surrendertome) for her generous gift.

* * *

By nightfall, Nero was exasperated by the unceasing itchiness of his skin but happy to have noticed no other symptoms of those accursed shards. Nero was surprised, however, that with all the scratching he had done, most of the tiny purple shards were still stuck like thorns in his skin. Though he had experienced no new symptoms thus far, the devil hunter was a bit concerned that if the bards were so well-designed to stay stuck in one's skin, they would have to have some purpose beyond making him itch like he had chicken pox.

Curious, Nero made his way downstairs to question Dante about his own symptoms. When Nero arrived downstairs, he caught a lotion-caked, shirtless Dante hissing in pain. His skin was splotched with puffy red patches even on skin that Nero knew had been covered when the chimera exploded that morning.

"You alright, old man?" Nero tried to sound like himself, but his concern tainted his voice.

"No," Dante growled lowly. "I rubbed some lotion on 'cause I thought it would help the itching, but it burns like fuck."

Nero frowned. "Do you think maybe there's a purpose to these things?"

"Hell if I know," Dante ground through gritted teeth.

"Uh, _well_, do you think maybe we should figure it out?" Nero didn't intend to sound like a smartass, but it happened and he couldn't very well swallow his words back down. Dante was never one to get angry when he smarted-off before, but Nero thought the man in an unusually bad mood but with good reason.

"Right now, I really don't know. I'm just gonna wait it out and hope I don't scratch my balls."

Nero's eyes widened when Dante implied that the shards could he spread by scratching, and he suddenly remembered that he had, in fact, scratched his balls. The part-devil groaned loudly, smacking a hand to his forehead. How long would it be before he could feel that horrible itching down there, of all places? It seemed Dante figured out that Nero had scratched his balls, and the hunter started cackling gleefully.

"Shut the fuck up," Nero growled, punching the man in the shoulder and sneering when he found his knuckles caked with slick lotion.

"Ha-ha, you're gonna have itchy balls," Dante chanted like childhood bully. Nero wanted to sock him in his stupid face, but he was at least satisfied to see the man scratching furiously where his fist had made impact.

"Whatever, I'm gonna take a shower," Nero breathed, heading upstairs. He flipped Dante off when the man yelled not to waste all the hot water. Nero was tempted to stay in the shower and use up all the hot water just to spite him, but he would hold off all the "meat tenderizing" jokes as long as he could.

After a very stinging, burning shower, Nero crawled into bed, growling at the sheets every time they tickled his skin and made his itching worse. He whined and sighed defeatedly when he realized sleep wasn't going to come so easily to him that night.

Meanwhile, Dante was showering when the water suddenly grew cold. He gasped, his skin horripilating, which only seemed to make the itching more intense. The halfbreed sighed, his infallibly content mood actually disrupted for a rare once in awhile. Normally, he could take almost anything fate ditched out with a few snarky jokes and bottles of beer. That constant itching, however, like hundreds of tiny insects burrowing into his skin, was nearly driving him insane.

When his shower was over, Dante decided attempting sleep would be his best course of action, whereas he would have normally stayed awake a few hours farther into the night. He knew life wouldn't be quite as enjoyable in his current predicament, and if he could find solace in sleep, he would certainly seek it out.

* * *

Nero's eyes slowly cracked open to the darkness of the early morn. After tossing and turning and scratching for hours on end, he had finally drifted off, but he seldom even remembered falling asleep. Nero wanted to rub the grit out of his eyes but stopped himself at the last minute. He didn't need anything else to be itching. However, Nero noticed that, strangely enough, he no longer felt itchy at all. A small burst of happiness filled the young part-devil as he hoped that the itching was finally over.

He was far too exhausted, however, to feel joy for long. The hunter rolled out of bed and shuffled across the cold wood to the bathroom. His brow furrowed when he noticed how awkward and heavy his body felt, as if he had suddenly gained several pounds, but the hunter attributed it to sleep deprivation. Without flipping the light switch, the young man stepped into the bathroom. He spat expletives into the darkness when he somehow managed to bash his elbow into the doorframe and nearly snap his smallest toe off on the opposite side. Walking through an open doorway had never been so difficult and painstaking before, but Nero just assumed he was unsteady on his feet because he had recently woken up. Hoping he would aim correctly, Nero was relieved by the sound of the toilet water when he took a piss. Afterward, the hunter returned to his bedroom, but he halted when he reached the center of the room, going silent and scoping his surroundings carefully.

_Why the fuck am I in Dante's room?_

Nero stared, dumbfounded, at Dante's bed, shocked to find it void of the other hunter. Had they somehow switched beds in their sleep? Nero recalled, when he was younger, that he sometimes sleepwalked if he didn't get enough sleep. Perhaps, out of some strange coincidence, Dante did the same. That explanation didn't strike Nero as very plausible, however, and he went to see if Dante was in his bed, as well.

The door creaked quietly when Nero pushed it open, and the hunter peeked inside. Through the darkness, he could tell that someone was definitely in his bed. Strangely, however, the silhouette appeared too small to be Dante, and Nero attributed that to the fact that the man was curled in on himself rather than sprawled across the bed as he usually slept. Concerned that the hunter's condition may have worsened severely, Nero flipped the switch beside the door and padded softly over to the bed.

The light woke the person in the bed, however, and when they rolled around to face him, Nero was utterly astonished by what he saw. He couldn't stop the gasp that came from his throat when he saw his own face staring sleepily up at him. Confusion spread onto the other's face, however, when awareness returned to him. Nero watched, stunned and gawking, as his own eyes traced up and down his body. It was only at that moment that Nero realized he was stark nude, and even worse, he was Dante. The stubble he reached up to feel on his chin and how unfamiliar his body looked as he gazed toward his feet said more than even a mirror could. He was afraid to look into one anyway for fear that his horrible nightmare would suddenly come true.

"Okay, this is some crazy, fucking dream," he stammered, breaking a higher pitch when he heard Dante's voice coming from his throat. "Wake up," he commanded to himself, beating his head against the wall.

"W-what the Hell... is going on?" asked the Nero in his bed, pausing over each syllable when he heard the unfamiliar voice coming from his own throat. They both gaped at each other for a pregnant pause.

"I don't think that chimera just wanted to give us itchy nuts, Dan... me?" Nero was extremely perplexed for a moment as he wondered exactly what to call the face staring back at him that should have been in a mirror, not his bed.

"No, I'm you," said the Nero in his bed.

"You're not me," Nero objected, clenching his fists and unsettled without feeling the familiar texture of his Devil Bringer's armored digits. It felt as if he has lost an arm.

"No, I'm you right now," corrected the other male.

"So you're Dante?"

"Yes."

"And I'm... myself?"

"Yes," repeated the Nero in his bed, who Nero was now obligated to call "Dante".

"This so so fucking weird," Nero stuttered so quickly Dante almost couldn't understand what he said. "We switched places?"

"I guess so," Dante said, examining the unfamiliar body he know occupied. He picked at the black boxers he was wearing, unused to sleeping in anything but his birthday suit.

"How did this happen?" Nero searched for the shards in his flesh again but found that they had disappeared. He spotted one in the back of his hand, but it dissolved right before his eyes. So the others had dissolved, too?

"That fucking demon cursed us," Dante spat, "that's how."

"Agh, this is too weird," Nero whined, clutching his head in one hand.

"Quit your whining, kid," said Dante, which both hunters found odd coming from Nero's body. "We need to think of a plan."

"I'm gonna go call Tri—"

"No!"

Nero recoiled when Dante was suddenly in his face. "What?"

"You can't tell Trish... or Lady."

"Why the Hell not?" shrieked Nero.

"If they find out about this, they'll never let me live it down."

"What? Are you seriously being this petty in this kind- situation?"

"I'm not being petty. They'll make fun of me, and Lady will start chargin—"

"I'm calling Trish right now," Nero declared simply, turning to walk from the room. He was stopped dead in his tracks when Dante latched both hands around his ankle.

"_Please_ don't tell!"

"Goddamit, Dante! You're acting like a _child_!"

Nero glared down at the hunter, who peeked around his leg, giving him puppy dog eyes, which Nero was ashamed to see on his own face. He bore holes into the other's eyes for a moment before a sigh erupted from his lips. Rolling his eyes, Nero tossed his head back and groaned through grit teeth.

"Fine, but you better work your ass of to find some kinda solution, or I swear, I'll call her."

"Thank you," Dante chirped, kissing Nero's leg.

Nero sneered in disgust, kicking the hunter off his leg. He crossed his arms and tapped his foot on the floor for a moment before his nakedness suddenly dawned on him, and he blushed. It was absurd to care about the state of undress of a body that wasn't his own.

"So what're we gonna do?"

Dante stared off at the floor, tapping a finger on his chin as he thought of an answer. He hummed pensively, furrowing his brow in concentration. "Okay, let's just take some time to think," he suggested. "I'll look through the books I've got in the cellar. There's bound to be some answers in one o' those."

Nero nodded. He quickly fled to Dante's room to get dressed. Wearing Dante's clothes was incredibly awkward, but he knew none of his own clothes would fit properly. He struggled to put Dante's odd gloves on that seemed to be full of more holes than necessary. He also suffered a moment of uncertainty in slipping on the chaps Dante always wore, but he was relieved to find they were secured in mostly the same fashion as his holsters. When Nero made his way downstairs, he nearly used his face as a sled down the stairwell and just managed to catch himself before he fell forward. He was still unaccustomed to controlling Dante's body. Nero scowled when he found Dante sitting behind his desk, completely dressed as if the task was effortless.

_Overachiever_, Nero grumbled inwardly.

Dante, already reading a book propped open on his desk, glanced at Nero with an expression that said the whole situation was just as strange for him. That satisfied Nero, somewhat. He thumped across the room, about to reach for Red Queen when Dante stopped him. Nero looked at him questioningly.

"If Lady or Trish sees you with that, they're gonna think somethin's up," he said.

Breathing a deeo sigh, Nero instead hefted Rebellion onto his back and started toward the doors with Ebony and Ivory in hand.

"Hey, wait," called Dante, "where are you going?"

"I'm gonna hunt some demons."

"I thought we were gonna think this shit through? Try t'figure something out?"

"Yeah, well, I do my best thinking when doing what I do _best_," Nero stated matter-of-factly. Dante simply watched him go, unsure of what to say, and before he could think of something, Nero had disappeared beyond the doors of Devil May Cry, the panels swinging closed behind him.

* * *

**A/N:** I'm sorry this took so long! I posted this on dA quite awhile back after I finished it, and I intended to put it up on here, but I guess I forgot. I hope at least some of you got to read it on dA, but if you didn't, I apologize for the wait.


	3. Chapter 2

**Warnings:** Eventual Homosexual Pairing(D/N/D), Strong Language, Violence, Blood/Gore

**To be updated?:** Yes, this is a serial story.

**Disclaimer:** I do not own DMC, and I make no money from this(or any) story.

**Dedicated to** surrendertome(dodgegirl66) for her generous gift.

* * *

Dante smacked his lips as he lay in a puddle of drool staining the book pressed beneath his cheek. He was dreaming of pizza, and his jaw had developed a mind of its own. His dream was so vivid he could taste the cheese and pepperoni sliding around his tongue. His mouth was watering profusely, and, no doubt, a few strands of hair were glued to his face, sticky with saliva. At least, it was Nero's hair and not his own, though the younger devil would probably be pissed if he found out.

The slamming of one of the doors against the wall caused the hunter to jolt awake with a snort. His bleary eyes beheld a figure stumbling into the building, holding their body upright with a palm against the wall. He knew who it was before he wiped the sleep from his eyes, for his nose picked up Nero's scent. However, Dante also smelled copious amounts of blood, and the hunter seldom believed the observation until he saw it with his own eyes.

Nero, beaten and bleeding, shambled into the building, his knees weak and trembling. His open palm and forearm pressed forcefully against his gut, the pale skin of his arm splotched with blood. The fabric of his—well, Dante's—trousers was darkened in large patches, and Dante could see rivulets of blood dripping down the leather of his vest. Nero's sleepy eyes connected with his own, asking for help that the younger man would be too ashamed to request aloud. Just as Dante was walking toward the part-devil, he dared to push himself away from the support of the wall. It hadn't been a wise idea, however, for he soon stumbled to the side and collapsed into Dante's arms.

"Jesus, kid," Dante hissed, brushing away the reminder of how foreign his words sounded in Nero's voice. Dante felt guilt as he hefted Nero and his own body over to the couch. He knew when Nero left that he should have forced the younger hunter to stay. After all, they weren't quite accustomed to each other's bodies, and Nero was bound to injure himself one way or another. However, Dante had just kept his mouth shut and let Nero walk out the door. _I'm an asshole._

"Look at you," mumbled the hunter. "You're a mess."

Dante unbuckled his own belts and unzipped his vest that had a new hole sliced into it. Nero's hand was insistent about pressing against the wound, but Dante gently swatted it away. He quickly pressed his own palm against it, however, when he saw a pulsating mass of entrails threatening to spill out of the wide gash. The hunter cursed as warm, raw flesh throbbed against his hand and hot blood streamed between his fingers. He had never been a squeamish person; his profession wouldn't allow him to be. Blood had never had much of an effect on him, but the fact that it was Nero's blood—the blood of someone close—made him slightly nauseous. He suppressed a gag, however, because the last thing Nero's situation needed was him vomiting all over the younger man's lap.

"Here," said Dante lowly, grabbing Nero's bloodied hand with his free one. "Keep pressure on it. I'll be back in just sec."

Dante quickly marched into the downstairs bathroom, flinging the cabinet door open and retrieving the first aid kit from beneath the sink. He smeared blood on everything he touched, but he could clean up later. Nero's condition was far more urgent a matter than the cleanliness of his shop. Dante quickly grabbed a rag and wetted it with warm water before returning to Nero. The younger hunter was panting, his breathing labored. It was obvious that he was close to fainting from blood loss, and Dante hoped he could prevent that. He could treat Nero far quicker if the younger man was awake and responsive.

Once he had gathered the needed materials, Dante pressed a thick pad of gauze against the wound. In his other hand was a crooked needle already attached to a plastic-like thread. Nero's eyes shifted to the needle and thread as if to ask why it was needed. Normally, Nero's wound would have stitched itself back together in a matter of minutes, but with all the damage he had sustained, his system couldn't heal everything quickly enough.

"It won't heal in time, so I'm gonna have to stitch it up."

Nero sighed raspily, obviously not looking forward to the pain of stitching. He continued to remain silent, however, never protesting. Dante wasn't sure if that was because the younger man trusted his judgment or because he was too weak to refuse, but the halfbreed sincerely hoped it was the former. Dante made Nero apply pressure to the gauze so that he could free his own hands. Peeling the blood-soaked gauze from one end of the wound, Dante pinched the edges of flesh together with one hand, forcing a pained whimper from Nero. Dante shushed him sympathetically, sounding like a mother cooing to her child. The pain was about to get far worse, Dante knew. He could see from how harshly Nero bit into his lip that the other hunter knew it, as well. When Dante shoved the needle through both edges of the gash, Nero cried out in pain. Dante didn't bother shushing him again, for he knew it would only piss the younger man off. Instead, he quickly sutured the wound together, and when he finally finished, Nero's lip was swollen and bleeding.

"See? Wasn't too bad was it?" Dante could physically feel the burn of Nero's glare, and it only made him grin. At least, the younger man was acting somewhat like himself despite the dire situation. Dante stripped Nero down to his bare skin—despite the younger man's protests—long enough to ensure there were no other wounds that required stitching. Dante was happy to see that he had closed the most sever of Nero's wounds; the others simply needed standard cleaning and bandaging. Dante padded all the wounds off so that he could apply a little peroxide to them before placing a pad of gauze over each and secure them all with a wrap of bandages. Once he had contained all of Nero's bleeding, the older man returned his attention to the sutured wound. He gently cleaned it with the cloth he had brought that had already lost its heat. He cleaned most of the blood from Nero's skin before dabbing peroxide around the sutures and wrapping gauze around Nero's stomach to keep the wound closed off from infections.

When he was finally finished caring for Nero, Dante gathered all the medical supplies and stuffed them back into the first aid kit. He carried it and the bloodied rag back to the bathroom, putting everything away and cleaning up all the smeared spots of blood around the room. He simply tossed the rag into the corner to be cleaned later, though he was sure Lady would end up dropping by and finding it before he could. He didn't like being bitched at, but he could handle it. What made the hunter pick the rag back up and carry it to the laundry hamper in the cellar was the question he knew Lady would ask if she saw the rag. She would wonder who had gotten injured and how, and Dante wasn't sure he could weave a believable lie. He was also afraid that he or Nero would let something slip that Lady really didn't need to hear lest she develop suspicions. Even Dante thought it silly to hide their dilemma from the girls, but he simply couldn't deal with the shame and embarrassment.

_It's better this way,_ Dante told himself, but he had a hard time believing it.

When Dante returned upstairs, he first washed his hands, watching Nero's blood whirl down the drain like red billows of smoke. Then, he returned to Nero's side. He was happy to see that the younger devil was still awake, though he knew Nero needed the rest. Sliding his arm beneath Nero's armpit, he started to hoist the younger male to his feet. However, Nero wiggled out of the one-armed hug, prompting a questioning look from Dante.

"I'm fine," he said, nodding to reassure Dante when the halfbreed tried to protest. Nero pushed himself to his feet with a pained grunt, which really didn't help him convince Dante. He swatted the hunter's hands away when he reached for him again. "Really, Dante, I'm fine." Nero was surprised by the roughness of his own voice, but he pushed those thoughts away and started limping for the stairs. He could feel Dante staring holes into his back, and he was about to speak up before Dante did instead.

"Yell for me… if you need anything," he said gently, the concern clear in his voice. Nero smiled ever so slightly.

"I will," he replied earnestly before climbing the stairs. His movements were slow, and he swayed with every step. There must not have been enough blood in his body to supply his brain because his head started to swim. He felt dizzy to the point that he thought he might puke, but the younger hunter just kept limping until he reached his bed and collapsed upon it. Nero had never thought his bed very comfortable, but he felt as if he hadn't slept in years.

However, he didn't doze off as soon as his head hit the pillow. His mind was occupied by the battle he had miserably lost. When he walked out of Devil May Cry, he felt oddly confident. The weight of Dante's weapons on his body had been familiar and comforting. He never thought, then, that using them would be so foreign to him, but Nero reminded himself that he should have. When he had drawn Rebellion from his back to cleave a demon in half, it was as if the sword was fighting him the whole way. She seemed to know that her master no longer controlled the hands that wielded her. Nero's battle became a game of tug-of-war between him and Rebellion. She jerked against his grip, trying to fly loyally back to her master.

When she finally slid from Nero's hands, however, she only spun widely around like a boomerang, caught between Dante and his devil trapped within his own body. Nero thought the sword might spiral around forever, but she chose the closest target and cleaved into his side. It left a nasty gash below his ribs, and Nero had wondered if he would be able to lug himself and Rebellion back to Devil May Cry, especially with the demons he came to kill gnashing at his legs. Against all odds, he had succeeded, but he felt more defeated than ever before. He felt like a fool, and that was, perhaps, the worst kind of defeat to feel when he reminded himself that he should have known better than to think he could master a sword that Dante had spent half his life taming. The older hunter probably thought him an idiot, but Nero only shook his head at that thought. He was too exhausted to start worrying about Dante's opinion of him, and the younger man finally let his eyes slide shut.

Meanwhile, Dante was nodding off again as his eyes trailed across a drool-stained page. He would have slept there for the entire night if Lady hadn't burst in and woke him up. Dante tried to keep his eyes from widening when he saw her. She was the last person he wanted to see that night.

"Hey, Nero," said the woman casually. "Doing some late night reading?" The huntress brow quirked at the odd abundance of books scattered across his desk.

"Uh, yeah," replied the hunter, hurriedly thinking of how Nero would respond. "I just… got bored. Couldn't sleep."

Lady let out a silent chortle that Dante nearly hadn't heard. "I never took you for the reading type."

Dante was unable to think of a response along the same lines as Lady's own, but he really didn't want to anyway. He wanted to hasten her visit; he wanted her to leave as quickly as possible. "Are you here to see Dante?"

"Yes," Lady replied. "I need to discuss a… _payment_ issue with him." The huntress' voice sounded vicious. She must have been really pissed at… himself. That was at least one reason to be thankful for their dilemma; he wouldn't have to deal with her.

"He went to bed," Dante blurted, sounding a little too eager to reply.

"This early?" Lady replied, sincerely surprised. "I figured he would be up drinking his ass into a coma."

"Eh, well… The ki—_old man_… The old timer was exhausted, so he just went up and went to bed about an hour ago."

Lady smirked. "Did you almost call him 'kid'?"

"No," Dante protested, trying not to sound suspicious. He had apparently already failed, however.

"Yes, you did," Lady chuckled. "He's really rubbing off on you, isn't he?"

"Uh… I guess?" Dante's expression seemed startled before he forced a small smile. He needed to relax, or he was just going to offer his secret up on a silver platter. Lady could sense when things were up. If he kept acting afraid of her, it would only be a matter of time before she caught wind of their little problem.

"Well, I'll come back tomorrow," Lady sighed. She started for the door before pausing as her hand settled on the handle. Dante froze, anticipating a declaration that she knew he wasn't really Nero. However, she said something sickeningly considerate, and Dante felt a misplaced bout of jealousy against Nero. "Get some sleep, Nero."

"Uh, y-you, too," replied the hunter awkwardly. He was overwhelmed by joy when Lady finally walked out the door, letting it swing shut behind her. The hunter let out a breath he hadn't known he was holding.

"You really dodged a bullet there, dumbass…"

* * *

**A/N:** I was going to upload this last night, but as I was going to add it to the story, I noticed that I hadn't yet added chapter one. xD How I forgot that, I don't know. But you guys get two new chapters now instead of one. I guess that's a plus. Hope you enjoyed it! Please review!


End file.
